How Joe Manganiello Feels About Playing Deathstroke

It's a good time to be a comic book fan. Because in addition to Marvel's consistently exciting silver screen adventures, DC is now in the fray with a bonafide cinematic universe of its own. And while Marvel took its time to slowly introduce characters to audiences, the DC Extended Universe hasn't been shy about quickly introducing fan favorite villains and heroes. And this will only continue with Ben Affleck's untitled Batman solo flick. While the script is still being worked on, the movie is said to be very villain-heavy, likely introducing a ton of Batman's rogues into the DCEU, including Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke. And now the actor has opened up about taking on the role.

Joe Manganiello recently sat down with ET, where the subject of his upcoming villainous role was brought up. Manganiello revealed how much playing Deathstroke means to him, and his relationship with the genre. He said,

Growing up an avid comic book fan, and then there were a lot of superhero roles, and supervillain roles, that came my way that I said no to, or wasn't allowed to do, because of other commitments. So it's just really exciting to think that this is the one.

While it's great to know that Deathstroke is in the hands of a true comic book fan, Joe Manganiello also revealed a pretty mind blowing fact that fans are sure to geek out about: he was offered other comic book roles in the past.

The revelation that Joe Manganiello has been offered opportunities to play both villains and heroes within the genre is a pretty exciting concept, especially when you consider how there are only a few major players producing these blockbusters. Basically, they must have been roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or X-Men franchise. And considering that the majority of the roles in the X-men: First Class trilogy were a bit young for him, he's likely been offered a few roles with the MCU.

But it was the DCEU that eventually landed the Magic Mike star, and fans seem pleased with the casting. Joe Manganiello addressed this positive reception in the same interview, saying:

I'm glad everybody's happy. I'm just gonna put my head down and just really show up as prepared as any supervillain ever has.

Now isn't that a sigh of relief? Joe Manganiello is ready to get to work, and give Deathstroke his all.

Regarding his past offers, my guess is that Joe Manganiello was offered roles in some of Marvel's Phase Two movies, which coincides with some of his time on HBO's True Blood. True Blood is when people started really paying attention to the behemoth of an actor, and he'd already done a fair amount of action work in the show that would lend itself well to a superhero movie. I could definitely see Manganiello playing Crossbones in Captain America, as well as Drax or Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Do you think Joe Manganiello is better off in the DCEU or MCU? Sound off in the comments below.